Konoha, Ichiraku Ramen.
"Thanks for looking after me today, Uncle Teuchi. See you tomorrow."
At the shop's entrance, Teuchi crossed his arms and laughed warmly."No need to be so polite, Shion. Today was crazy busy, and it was all thanks to your help. You'd better be ready to work hard again tomorrow!"
…Tomorrow?
The reason Shion had come all the way from the Uchiha compound to work here… was precisely because of tomorrow.
Ichiraku Ramen, the safest place in all of Konoha.
Neither the Nine-Tails' rampage nor Pain's later assault on the village had ever touched this tiny ramen stand. Its appearance never once changed in Shion's memories.
If not for that lunatic lending a hand in the past, his little sister Izumi might not have survived. That alone proved it: even the Uchiha compound wasn't safe on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack.
And with his body being only five years old—paired with the reflexes of his previous life—trying to fight would've been no different than suicide.
"Phew… Don't let me down, today."
Exhaling sharply, Uchiha Shion quickened his steps toward the clan compound.
Uchiha Fugaku's second son had just been born. That confirmed the timeline for Shion—October 10th, the day of the Nine-Tails' attack!
And tomorrow… was October 10th. The day the original story's protagonist was born. Which meant that after midnight tonight, his system would finally activate.
"I'm home."
Shion slid the door open. In the living room sat a young girl with a beauty mark at the corner of her eye that only made her cuter.
"Big brother, you're home late again. Business must've been good for Uncle Teuchi today."
Shion walked over and ruffled her hair. "Customers were out of the ordinary today. Izumi, did you go practice again?"
Uchiha Izumi nodded, then asked, "I still don't get why you insist on working at Ichiraku all the time. You haven't practiced taijutsu with me in forever."
Shion just smiled, not answering. From the kitchen came their mother, Uchiha Hazuki, carrying a tray of tea.
"Shion, you really don't need to work yourself so hard. We still have some savings left—enough to last until you two become genin and can start taking missions."
Shion nodded lightly. "I've managed to save quite a bit these last six months. I already told Uncle Teuchi I won't need to work after tomorrow."
Hazuki let out a quiet sigh of relief. Sending her five-year-old son to work had always weighed heavily on her, especially after losing her husband.
Taking a sip of tea, Shion stood. "I'm pretty tired from the whole day. I'll go wash up and rest."
Before leaving, he reached over to ruffle Izumi's hair again. "The day after tomorrow, I'll practice with you again. No slacking off, alright?"
Izumi puffed out her cheeks in protest. "I never slack off! Don't forget, you're only a tiny bit older than me. Don't cry if I end up surpassing you!"
Shion chuckled, waving her off as he headed to the washroom. As twins, he really was only a little older than Izumi.
Night fell.
The second hand of the clock ticked past midnight. Shion bolted upright from his bed.
Transmigrating into the body of an Uchiha born in the same generation as Itachi… Only heaven knew how he had survived these five years.
Before his system awakened, he had woken from nightmares almost every night. More than once, he'd been tempted to sneak away and escape everything.
But after five years of living with his family… the love in his mother's gentle words, Izumi's soft little voice calling him "big brother"…
Family. Something he'd never had in his previous life. And now, it had become the bond anchoring him to this world.
But in just eight short years, an unhinged man would massacre the clan without sparing even children. In his past life, Shion had admired that character as a tragic figure of the story.
But living here now?
Why?
Why should his family of three—forced to move back to the Uchiha compound after his father's death—be doomed to die?
They weren't even allowed to attend clan meetings. They weren't hawks or doves. His mother worked tirelessly every day just to raise her twins.
Why should such a struggling, fatherless household be slaughtered because of Itachi's so-called ideals of "village" and "clan"? Why?!
Shion clenched his fists.
He appreciated Konoha's current peace, shaped by modern ideals of stability. But not if that peace demanded the lives of his family.
Tonight's actions would change everything. If he could alter the future—good. If not? Then within eight years—no, sooner—he would kill Uchiha Itachi himself, before Shisui's death pushed him into awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.
[Naruto World: Scenario Activation][Intelligence Trading Hub: Successfully Initialized][Replication Function: Successfully Activated]
Shion focused, commanding silently within his mind:
Open the Trading Hub. Use the novice reward to initiate a trade with S-rank shinobi: the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.
[Target Locked: S-rank Shinobi, Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato][Timeflow of Trading Hub Adjusted][Enable Shadow Mode?]
"Enable it," Shion answered without hesitation.
The space around him blurred, then solidified again. His wooden bed had turned into a chair. A long table stretched before him—and on the opposite side sat the Fourth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf: Namikaze Minato.
"…Hm?"
In that instant, Shion saw Minato's brow furrow in confusion.
A quick glance confirmed it: Shadow Mode. His body was nothing but a dark silhouette, just like those "black figures" in Detective Conan—or like Black Zetsu, only without the liquid form.
"No need to waste your effort. The Flying Thunder God won't work here. In this space, genjutsu, ninjutsu—even chakra itself—are useless."
As Shion's voice echoed, altered and distorted by the system, Minato's body jolted violently. An unseen force pressed him back into his chair, rendering him immobile.
Flexing his strange, disguised voice, Shion waved his hand casually."Put simply: in here, whether you're a Hokage or even the Sage of Six Paths, you cannot attack me. By the rules of this space—it's impossible."
Feeling the oppressive force restraining him, Minato stopped resisting. Whoever could pull him instantly into this dimension, neutralize the Flying Thunder God, and render all techniques void… That sort of power could only be endured until its nature was understood.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Minato asked.
Shion shook his head. "Who I am isn't important. As for what I want—you should already know. The rules of this space have been implanted in your mind."
Minato frowned. Information had appeared unbidden in his consciousness, and it took him some time to digest it.
"So you're not the creator of this place. This is a Trading Hub. Both sides cannot attack each other. And… neither side can lie."
Shion nodded. "Exactly. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. But if you speak, you must tell the truth."
Minato continued: "If someone lies, the space exposes it and the trade fails. And talents, bloodlines, jutsu—they can all serve as bargaining chips?"
Leaning an elbow on the table, Shion rubbed his temple."Right. And the chips you wager don't vanish. The system simply replicates them for me. I don't take anything from you directly.
The extent to which fate changes corresponds to the value of your wager. For example… say a person fated to die is saved, and more lives are changed because of it. Then the greatest chip I can receive from you would be… your natural talent in space-time ninjutsu."
Minato thought for a moment before answering."I have nothing I wish to trade. And I won't replicate my space-time abilities to someone of unknown identity."
Just as Minato began to rise, Shion cut in quickly.
"Kushina's death date is today. Midnight has already passed. That information alone should count as bait."
The words slammed into Minato like a kunai. He stared at the carved patterns on the tabletop.
[True]
The glowing character burned into the wood beneath his eyes. His fists clenched tight. In this eerie space, bound by these rules, he couldn't afford to gamble on whether it was real or not.
Shion's voice carried across the table."You don't have to give me anything directly. You don't even need to teach me. If what I said proves false, your space-time ability won't transfer to me.
But if it's true… is a space-time talent you'll never lose really worth more than Kushina's life? Or… Naruto's?"